


far too young

by jetplane



Series: Whumptober 2020 [23]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Kidnapping, Sleep Deprivation, Spencer Reid is a Rossi, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:28:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27187963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jetplane/pseuds/jetplane
Summary: Seven-year-old Spencer Rossi is kidnapped by an unsub. David refuses to sleep until he finds his son.prompts: exhaustion (day 23)
Series: Whumptober 2020 [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946050
Comments: 16
Kudos: 80
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	far too young

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is actually not a full story. It's kind of an introduction to a work I've been writing on and off for a few months now (I love kidnapped-Reid stories and currently have about three or four in the process). Basically, this is a Rossi-as-Reid's-dad like my other fic, Out of the Water, but a lot more intense. I felt pretty comfortable rating this first chapter as General, but if/when I continue this story, the next part will likely be Mature or Explicit with multiple relevant archive warnings. Let me know if you'd be interested in reading more of this story! I look forward to hearing your feedback!

“Dave, maybe you should go home,” Gideon suggests gently. If the dark circles around his friend’s eyes aren’t enough of a giveaway, the trash can filled with empty cups of coffee tells him that it’s been a long time since the profiler last slept. One of the younger agents has been keeping him well-supplied with the caffeine, and Jason isn’t sure whether he should fire the new agent or give him a promotion.

Rossi shakes his head. “I can’t leave,” he mutters, not looking up from the scribblings in his notebook. “I’m not leaving.”

“We have people working around the clock,” Gideon continues as kindly as possible. “You need to sleep at some point.”

“Spencer is missing,” Dave snaps. He runs a hand through his hair before jotting down something. “My son is missing, do you get that? I have to find him.”

Jason closes his eyes. It had been almost four days since Spencer had gone missing, stolen by an unsub the BAU had been tracking. Physical evidence was nonexistent and the profile only slightly more useful. They were flying blind, and it terrified Gideon almost as much as it did Rossi.

“Maybe - maybe I should make another appeal to the public,” Rossi suggests, briskly shuffling through a stack of papers. “And we haven’t released the profile. Why haven’t we released the profile?”

“Because we don’t have enough information for a full profile,” Jason reminds him in a gentle tone. “Remember?”

Dave shakes his head. “We should still release it,” he insists. He looks up, wild eyes making contact with his coworker’s for just a moment. “What’s the name of our media contact? If we call right now, we can still make the morning news.”

“The description still fits a third of the men living in the DC area,” Gideon says. And they didn’t even know if the unsub was still in the DC area. “We profiled that the unsub likes to watch his victims’ families suffer. If you make another media appearance, you’ll just be giving him what he wants.”

“I don’t care,” Rossi snaps. “We have to do something. Four days and what progress have we made? Nothing. If we don’t give him what he wants, he’ll - he’ll-” The father looks helpless as the words die on his lips. It’s been half a week and he can’t acknowledge that his son might already be dead.

“Dave…” He doesn’t know what to say. “I know. But you’re exhausted. There’s no way you can keep this up.”

“I’m fine,” he says, waving a hand dismissively. He tries to pick up another pen but misses and knocks it off his desk. “I can sleep when we find Spencer.”

“Everyone outside is working as hard as they can,” Gideon tries to point out. Rossi shouldn’t even be working this case, but of course, he wasn’t going to just stand by and watch the investigation play out. “This isn’t all on you.”

Rossi shakes his head again. “I’m his father,” Dave insists. “It’s my job to protect him and I - I failed.” Something snaps inside the profiler, and he tilts his head up to prevent the tears from slipping out of his eyes. “I failed him and I have - I have to get him back, Jason.”

“I know,” Jason replies gently, ignoring the hollow feeling the words leave him with. “We’re going to find Spencer.”

“I can’t lose him, Jason,” Rossi continues, swiping angrily at his cheeks as he continues to stare upward. “He’s - he’s the best thing I’ve ever had and he can’t...he doesn’t deserve this.” Trying to distract himself, Dave reaches down to retrieve his fallen pen. The agent badly overestimates his balance and tumbles out of his chair.

“Dave!” Gideon shouts in alarm, rushing behind Rossi’s desk to check him over for injuries. He doesn’t seem hurt, just disoriented, and he tries to push Gideon away almost immediately. “Dave, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he insists, ignoring the fact that he needs help to sit up. “I’m fine.” Jason slaps his hand away from the cup of coffee on his desk.

Gideon shakes his head. “You’re not fine. You haven’t slept in almost ninety hours and you’re going to kill yourself if you keep this up. You need to sleep.” Jason puts his arm around Rossi and helps him to his feet. “Come on.” He leads the exhausted agent to the couch and eases him onto the soft surface.

“Don’t make me sleep,” Rossi pleads. His body is exhausted and already starting to succumb to the softness of the couch cushions, but his mind is still fighting to hold onto consciousness. “Please, I have to keep working.” His eyelids droop as Gideon unfolds a blanket and pulls it over his body. “Spencer...I'm sorry.”

Jason flicks off the lights. "Good night, Dave." The father is asleep before he even has a chance to close the door. 

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know if you'd be interested in me continuing this piece! I know the ending was abrupt and there wasn't a ton of action or content, but that was because I didn't want to give away the whole story (I already have a couple of chapters written and I didn't want to take too much from them). Please leave any feedback or suggestions in the comments! Thank you so much for reading my story!


End file.
